Slow computer, Etrecheck report

Question

Level 7

20,383 points

Slow computer, Etrecheck report

Hi fellow users,

My MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) has become slow. When launching an app, the icon in the Dock bounces for an extended time. The spinning beachball appears often when doing simple tasks.

MacOS Sierra 10.12.6

History: I did a safe boot (shift key) to try to resolve another problem (Internet connection keeps dropping out). Whilst in safe mode, I logged in to a Guest account. Since then, my Mac has been slow. Etrecheck report attached.

Thank you for your help.

Regards

Ian.

EtreCheck version: 4.0b2 (4A101)

Report generated: 2017-12-09 16:51:36

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 5:17

Performance: Below Average

Problem: Computer is too slow

Hardware Information:

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

MacBook Pro model: MacBookPro9,2

1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-3210M) CPU: 2-core

4 RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 1617

Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 1536 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS547550A9E384 500.11 GB (Mechanical)

Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 [Core Storage Container] 499.25 GB

disk1 - Macintosh HD (Journaled HFS+) 498.88 GB

disk0s3 - Recovery HD (Journaled HFS+) [Recovery] 650 MB

Mounted Volumes:

disk1 - Macintosh HD 498.88 GB (454.69 GB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /

Network:

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface fw0: FireWire

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n

One IPv4 address

Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

Interface en4: TomTom

iCloud Quota: 0 B available

System Software:

macOS Sierra 10.12.6 (16G29) Time since boot: about an hour

System Load: 19.19 (1 min ago) 12.79 (5 min ago) 5.95 (15 min ago)

Gatekeeper:

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:

/System/Library/Extensions

[Not Loaded] UsbEthernetGadget.kext (1.0.0d1 - )

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 202 Apple tasks

[Running] 76 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded] 40 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 186 Apple tasks

[Running] 92 Apple tasks

[Other] 2 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:

[Loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-09-28)

[Loaded] com.hp.messagecenter.launcher.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-07-15)

[Loaded] com.epson.esua.launcher.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2017-05-15)

[Other] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a 23d420d.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-14)

Launch Daemons:

[Loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-14)

[Loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 - installed 2017-07-25)

[Loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-14)

[Loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-10-13)

User Launch Agents:

[Loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-08-11)

[Other] com.adobe.ARM.202f4087f2bbde52e3ac2df389f53a4f123223c9cc56a8fd83a6f7ae.plist (? 0 - installed )

User Login Items:

iTunesHelper Application (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-01-24)

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Dropbox Application (Dropbox, Inc.

(/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Internet Plug-ins:

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 17.012.20098 (installed 2017-12-03)

FlashPlayer-10.6: 26.0.0.151 (installed 2017-08-27)

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-08-03)

AdobePDFViewer: 18.009.20050 (installed 2017-12-03)

Flash Player: 26.0.0.151 (installed 2017-08-27)

User Internet Plug-ins:

WebEx64: 1.0 (installed 2015-11-07)

Safari Extensions:

[Enabled] ASCPowerTools.safariextz - Etresoft - http://www.etresoft.com/ascpowertools (installed 2015-10-02)

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player (installed 2017-07-25)

Time Machine:

Skip System Files: false

Mobile backups: false

Auto backup: true

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 498.88 GB - Disk used: 44.19 GB

Destinations:

S***********************e [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 999.86 GB

Total number of backups: 64

Oldest backup: 2015-12-26 15:02:13

Last backup: 2017-12-03 01:36:35

Top Processes by CPU:

WindowServer	6 %
kernel_task	3 %
mds	1 %
mdworker	0 %
mdworker	0 %

Top Processes by Memory:

kernel_task	577 MB
Dropbox	137 MB
Finder	72 MB
soagent	68 MB
loginwindow	59 MB

Top Processes by Network Use:

Process	Input	Output
Dropbox	116 KB	165 KB
mDNSResponder	13 KB	10 KB
apsd	9 KB	9 KB
netbiosd	2 KB	1 KB

Top Processes by Energy Use:

WindowServer	7.96
Dropbox	0.28
launchd	0.22
syncdefaultsd	0.20

Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM	1.01 GB
Free RAM	79 MB
Used RAM	2.99 GB
Cached files	959 MB
Swap Used	16 MB

Software Installs:

MRT Configuration Data: 1.16 (installed 2017-05-02)

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (18.009.20044): (installed 2017-11-17)

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (18.009.20050): (installed 2017-12-03)

XProtectPlistConfigData: 2097 (installed 2017-12-03)

MRTConfigData: 1.26 (installed 2017-12-03)

Gatekeeper Configuration Data: 134 (installed 2017-12-09)

Diagnostics Information:

2017-12-09 00:07:52 Numbers.app Hang

2017-12-07 22:31:42 Pages.app CPU

End of report

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Dec 8, 2017 10:43 PM

Reply

Answer 1

ChitlinsCC

Level 7

20,924 points

Dec 9, 2017 8:24 AM in response to Yellowbox

😀

Happy Holidays includes Christmas & New Year's - shorter than "Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year"

BTW, "Shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night" indicates the sheep were in the pasture grazing on grass... Jesus was born in the Spring 😀 (N. hemisphere, of course) - We need a time machine

worth posting again in the open

Reply

Answer 2

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Dec 9, 2017 10:09 AM in response to Yellowbox

Hi again Ian,

"

It seems that I must send an express letter to Santa Claus requesting a new Mac.

This Mac has been good value. Dividing the cost over the five years of use, $0.90 per day

"

a new MBP will be delivered with HighSierra. HS is still a disaster 10.13.2.

Reply

Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,654 points

Dec 9, 2017 8:56 AM in response to Lexiepex

Hey Ian, Merry Christmas back at-cha!

I also believe there is an error in Etrecheck 4. Etrecheck 3 does not report "not upgradeable" for that model.

I have the same model MPB 9,2 and not only is the RAM upgradeable but is easily user-accessible. I have 8GB in mine. Although Santa may be nice this year, yours may have run into a simple wear problem with this model that has shown up after 4-5 yerars of constant service. Please see my long post in this thread:

Mid-2012 MBP Severe slowing and battery drainage... Is this the end?!

The cable is available here: Apple Hard Drive / SSD Cable For 13-inch MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) main drive bay and is cheap and easy to swap out.

A lot of us Loungers (that's the editorial "us") are posting that slowness in this model is due to the 5400 rpm platter speed of the stock drive. I thin there is more. Our MBPs have a 6GB SATA bus but, if you research your hard drive model by the stock number in the Etrecheck report you will find Apple saved a few bucks and used a 3GB SATA drive. That leaves a lot of performance on the table. An SSD would be a great speed boost but, if a 500GB SSD is not in your budget, simply upgrading to a 6GB SATA rotational drive will help quite a bit.

Did anyone alert John to the issue of the RAM reporting error?

Reply

Answer 4

ChitlinsCC

Level 7

20,924 points

Dec 10, 2017 3:54 AM in response to Yellowbox

Howdy Ian

I have sent a batcall for etresoft hisownself to come have a look at his NEW & IMPROVED version 4.0b2 report

Unlike a lot of these reports, yours has nothing that leaps off the page an says "I confess!"

Happy Holidays

(Christmas in Summer is upside-down!)

Reply

Answer 5

Dec 9, 2017 7:34 AM in response to Yellowbox

I see no known Bad Actors.

You have 4GB of RAM (not upgradeable).

Readers here suggest that running ElCapitan or later requires "more than 4GB" of RAM for reasonable performance. The extra memory required will be simulated on the Boot drive. This problem is compounded for you by running a mechanical boot drive. You could get back some performance by changing to an SSD boot drive.

Reply

Answer 6

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Dec 9, 2017 7:39 AM in response to Yellowbox

Hello Ian,

1. the list says MBP9,2 and 2+2 Ram not upgradable. This is wrong: 9,2 is upgradable to 8GB Apple and 16GB Mactracker. ??!!

Ram may be defect !?

2. Your battery is FAR above the max CycleCount: I suppose it is dead or dying fast.

One of these is already enough for trouble.

Greets (standing on my head).

Lex

Reply

Answer 7

Yellowbox Author

Level 7

20,383 points

Dec 9, 2017 8:02 AM in response to Lexiepex

Hi Lex and Grant,

Thanks for your replies. It seems that I must send an express letter to Santa Claus requesting a new Mac.

This Mac has been good value. Dividing the cost over the five years of use, $0.90 per day 🙂.

Regards,

Ian.

Reply

Answer 8

Dec 10, 2017 3:53 AM in response to Yellowbox

One 4GB DIMM about US$35 to 45.

One 8GB DIMM about US$70 to $80.

pairs are not required, but if you install pairs, memory test performance will increase slightly. Real-World performance will be imperceptibly faster.

Reply

Answer 9

etresoft

Level 8

46,134 points

Dec 9, 2017 9:40 AM in response to Allan Jones

Allan Jones wrote:

Did anyone alert John to the issue of the RAM reporting error?

You just did. Thanks! I haven't looked at the text report for a long time. It will be updated and synced with the UI report in the next build.

Reply

Answer 10

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Dec 9, 2017 10:07 AM in response to etresoft

Hi JD,

If you did the memory check the same as in etrecheck 3.4 (and earlier), the beta1/beta2 report may convince Ian to take action. I have two mid 2012 MBP's and in both the ram is reported correctly in beta1 and beta2 (8 in one and 16 in the other one).

Reply

Answer 11

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Dec 10, 2017 1:21 AM in response to Lexiepex

Sorry John, I read the text version again: The text version says: 8+8 GB "NOT upgradeable", which is correct for my mbps (it is the max), but different from the olde etrecheck versions, where it said "upgradeable".

Reply